Tensions have risen between Ferrari teammates Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during a dramatic Mexico City Grand Prix, with the seven-time world champion left fuming over an opening lap incident.
The drama began almost immediately, with Leclerc attempting to make a move around the outside of Hamilton heading into turn four of the opening lap.
But the move saw Leclerc forced onto the grass, cutting the track and taking the lead without giving back the position, while Hamilton also ran slightly wide.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K | Get Kayo now.
Max Verstappen was quick to take advantage of the chaos, moving ahead of Hamilton heading into turn six, with the Ferrari driver dropping to third after starting from pole position.
Hamilton was far from impressed with his Ferrari teammate.
“Pushed out by my own teammate,” Hamilton said over team radio.
The incident even caught the attention of Verstappen, who believed Leclerc should have been forced to surrender the position.
“Charles has to give that position,” Verstappen said over team radio.
Stewards announced an investigation into the incident on the second lap, before handing Leclerc a five-second penalty on lap 13.
Following the penalty, Verstappen was surprised by the punishment.
“Ha! I thought all the new penalties were 10 (seconds)?” Verstappen said.
However, it was Hamilton who was left most frustrated with the decision, believing the penalty did little to punish his teammate, who had already established a big lead at the front of the field.
RACE REPORT: Piastri surge takes twist after freak crash; sheer F1 chaos before emotional scenes
‘THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING’: Antonelli just made F1 history. What happens next will terrify his rivals
Bottas crashes hard in Mexico | 00:34
“The problem with the five-second penalty is he’s got clean air and doesn’t have to manage like the rest of us,” Hamilton said to his Ferrari team.
“He should just give the positions back.”
The stewards later explained the penalty.
“Both cars entered Turn 4 with excessive speed and therefore neither would have been able to make the corner on track, as demonstrated by the fact that Car 44 (Hamilton) which was on the inside, had to go off track to make the corner,” the stewards said.
“Car 16 (Leclerc) was therefore not entitled to claim the corner due to the excessive entry speed. The driver then completed an overtake whilst off track and accordingly this warrants a penalty.
“The baseline penalty guideline is 10 seconds however in mitigation is the fact that car 44 was also off track on the inside of car 16 and this occurred early in the first lap.”
Hamilton’s frustrations only continued to grow as Leclerc made the most of the clean air out in front.
By lap 18, the Ferrari driver had extended his advantage over Verstappen to almost five seconds, with Hamilton sitting in third.
Just four laps later, Leclerc’s lead had reached the five-second mark, effectively cancelling out the time penalty he had been handed.
It was a situation that left Hamilton furious, with the British driver taking another swipe at the stewards over their handling of the incident.
“The stewards are basically handing Charles this win,” Hamilton said.
“We agreed in the drivers’ briefing.”
Leclerc and Verstappen both headed into the pits on lap 28, briefly handing Hamilton the lead before Ferrari brought him in the following lap.
The stop saw Hamilton return to the track, behind the two drivers he had been battling since the opening lap.
But the drama wasn’t over.
READ MORE
Piastri surge takes big twist after star’s terrifying crash; sheer F1 chaos before emotional scenes
Ferrari’s decision to pit Hamilton on lap 45, following a frightening crash involving Valtteri Bottas, only added fuel to the fire.
Hamilton was brought into the pits for fresh tyres following the incident, only for the race to be red-flagged shortly afterwards.
The decision left him furious, with the stoppage allowing the rest of the field to return to the pits and change tyres anyway.
“We’ve got big problems,” Hamilton said.
“Big, big problems.”
Verstappen held the lead ahead of Hamilton for the standing restart, setting up another dramatic battle.
The pair made contact in the early stages but remained in one and two, which is how they finished the race.
Teammate Leclerc was forced to settle for fourth, behind newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton said he would seek answers after Leclerc failed to give position back as allegedly agreed in a drivers’ briefing.
“Tough day. I think we had the pace to win today, but it wasn’t meant to be, and we’ll take it offline and figure out what we can do in the background,” Hamilton said after the race.
“In the drivers’ briefing, we discussed as soon as you go off in Turn 1, you have to give the position back.
“Last year I got a 10-second penalty for that same move that he did.
“But ultimately, it was that that lost us the win today. I think we have to have some serious talks behind the scenes, for sure.
“But the good thing is the team are working really hard. We’ve really improved our car. It’s great to be here, and we were on the old engine this weekend as well.
“Good results, good points. Shame we didn’t get a win, but some you win, some you lose.”
Leave a Reply